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"Brun?"
Krarlak looked confused as I approached him and gently took him from my brother's arms. I sat near the house and offered him a small scroll.
"I know you can barely understand me because you're still a baby, but this is a special scroll, Krarlak," I said softly. "One that can make you stronger. Do you want to be strong?"
"Awuh?" He tilted his head, then nodded. "Hm!"
I was not sure if he truly understood what I was saying, but I decided to proceed. With Freyja's help, I let her guide the decision for him, then handed him the scroll. He opened it curiously, and it quickly merged with his body.
"Waaahh! Oooh!"
He cried out in shock, screaming cutely while waving his little hands around. The scroll's runes swirled around him and rapidly merged into his being. As he tried to catch the glowing symbols, three messages appeared before my eyes.
Ding!
[You have gifted the [Pseudo Divine Talent Awakening Selection Scroll (A+ Grade)] to the Young Lizardman Tribe Member, Krarlak.]
[Due to the System's Interference, you have been granted the ability to choose for him.]
[Please choose from the following Pseudo Divine Talents for Little Krarlak to awaken.]
[Guiding Saint (S)]
[Guardian Spirit (S)]
[Elemental Master (S)]
"Woah, what are these?!" I exclaimed, stunned. "Let me see…"
I tapped each option with my finger, and a new window appeared for every talent.
[Guiding Saint (S)]
You are a Saint that guides the fate of all those around you. You possess the power to grant new possibilities and opportunities to others. You make them stronger through their own efforts, assign them special tasks to evolve their abilities, awaken new powers, and help them find success where they once failed. A Guiding Saint can teach what they have learned to others much more easily, allowing everyone around them to grow at a staggering rate. Eventually, the Guiding Saint's divine power grows so strong that those bonded to them will continue progressing even without direct guidance.
[Guardian Spirit (S)]
You are forever guarded and protected by a powerful Spirit born from your soul. This Spirit will grow and evolve alongside you. It will continuously consume other spirits to strengthen itself, and materials can also be used to further empower it. After a certain point, the Guardian Spirit will awaken new abilities and intelligence and may even self-multiply. The guardian will protect you with its life.
[Elemental Master (S)]
You are beloved by the Spirits of Nature, Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and more. Every element that belongs to the Aspects of Nature will obey your will and allow you to wield their magical power to its absolute limit. Conjuring magic of any of these elements will become extremely easy, with greatly reduced mana costs. In addition, it becomes much easier to learn spell skills through practice, and compatible Elemental Spirits will always aid you.
"Incredible. They're all amazing," I muttered, still shocked. "Why are they so strong? Is this because they're Pseudo Divine?"
"It's more than that," Freyja explained as she floated beside me. "These scrolls work according to one's full unrealized potential. Little Krarlak is so young and unaware of the world that his potential is nearly endless. That is why he has been offered such incredibly powerful talents."
"So the weaker the target, the stronger the potential for the talents?" I wondered. "Damn it, does that mean I get weaker talents?"
"Not at all. Please don't feel discouraged, Brunhild. It will be fine," Freyja reassured me. "Besides, isn't this exactly what you wanted for the child?"
"Hm, you're right," I nodded. "I wonder if I can pick the talent he doesn't choose?"
"Nope. Every talent generated by the scroll is unique," Freyja replied. "You will not be able to obtain these. Sorry."
"Eugh!" I groaned. "I want Elemental Master! And Guiding Saint would make things so much easier for the clan to grow faster!"
"Maybe something similar will appear later. Don't lose hope," Freyja said. "Besides, aren't you already super strong? You also received amazing new equipment. I would say you are already plenty powerful. Asking for more is just greed!"
"Yeah," I sighed. "You're not wrong, but there's nothing wrong with being a little greedy either…"
"Abuh?" Krarlak tilted his head. "Brun? Wawa?"
"Right," I sighed again. "I should focus on this precious baby instead of thinking about myself."
I kissed his forehead, and he giggled cutely, hugging me back and licking my face.
"Brun! Love!" he said, rubbing his face against me. "Wove!"
"Aw, you love me?" I chuckled warmly. "My cute baby! I would do anything for you." I paused, thinking carefully. "Alright… I guess the best talent for you right now is… Magic might be too messy for such a little baby."
"He might end up causing trouble at his age," Freyja agreed with a nod. "Guiding Saint would offer him little he can use right now. I believe Guardian Spirit is the best choice."
"Yeah," I nodded. "Let's go with that one."
Ding!
[You have chosen the Talent: [Guardian Spirit (S)] for Krarlak!]
[The Talent has begun to awaken within the young Lizardman.]
[A Guardian Spirit Seed has been born within his soul.]
[The Guardian Spirit Seed is beginning to absorb the Mana and Spirit Energy of the environment to grow stronger.]
"Oooh! Waahh!"
Krarlak panicked as he was suddenly lifted into the air. Elemental and spiritual energies swirled around us, rushing toward him and fusing with his soul in a vibrant vortex of colors.
"Brunhild! What's happening?!"
Not long after, my family came running to see what was going on.
"He awakened a talent. I gave him one of the scrolls!" I explained. "Sorry for not consulting you first."
"So that's what's happening!" My brother looked shocked. "I hope he will be fine after this!"
"He should be," I nodded.
FLUOSH!
The Spiritual Soul Energy within Krarlak fully germinated and manifested, only to compress and vanish completely from sight. For a moment, it seemed as though he had awakened nothing at all.
"Waaahhh!"
He cried out as he began falling from the air.
"Krarlak!"
My brother and I panicked, rushing forward to catch him. However, he never hit the ground.
"Buh?"
We looked up in surprise and saw a large hand had caught him out of nowhere.
"W-What is that?!" my mother asked in disbelief.
"Woah… is that a spirit?" my sister asked.
"Incredible…" my father said. "I can feel so much power coming from it!"
What had caught little Krarlak was his own Guardian Spirit, now fully realized. I had feared it might be baby-sized like him, but that was not the case at all. It was a giant standing around three meters tall, formed entirely of fluctuating spiritual energies. The spirit resembled a faint, powerful humanoid silhouette.
"Wahh! Oohh! Hi!" Krarlak sat comfortably on the palm of the giant spirit and waved his small hand happily.
The giant stared at him in silence before slowly beginning to change its appearance. It adapted to match its master's mind, lineage, and something deeper. Gradually, it took the form of a giant female serpent woman, a lamia. She possessed a long, powerful tail and an upper humanoid torso with a large chest and seductive, wide hips. Her delicate, soft snake-like head featured a small rainbow horn made of crystallized spiritual energy on her forehead. When she opened her eyes, long eyelashes framed bright golden pupils that gleamed with mysterious light. She had four arms, each one seemingly made to hold and protect him.
"Wow…"
Not only Krarlak but everyone present was left flabbergasted as we gazed upon such an incredible being.
Ding!
[Krarlak has successfully summoned his Guardian Spirit: Four-Armed Serpent Matriarch Spirit – Tier 3!]
[The Guardian Spirit will protect her master with her life and never leave his side.]
[The Guardian Spirit can grow stronger by preying on monsters, magical materials, and other spirits.]
[The master can channel the strength and spiritual power of the Guardian Spirit at all times.]
[If the master dies, so does the Guardian Spirit.]
[If the Guardian Spirit dies, it can be revived after fully reforming.]
[If Krarlak takes any damage, the Guardian Spirit will receive it instead, unless the master wishes otherwise.]
"Well, it's pretty amazing," I said. "And… huh, doesn't she remind you of someone?"
"…Yeah," my brother replied, staring at the beautiful spirit as it fluctuated with various colors. "She resembles Krarlak's mother…"
"Wauh!" Krarlak played happily with his Guardian Spirit while she entertained him by gently moving her fingers.
She already seemed quite sentient, given how naturally she interacted with him from the start. However, any attempt to speak with her proved futile. There was simply no response.
"Well, with a spirit like this, we can relax a bit on protecting the boy!" my father said. "We can leave him with Fenrir and Huginn for extra protection and handle our own tasks in peace."
"I agree," I nodded. "But at Tier 3, she might still lose against the stronger monsters on the lower floors… so let's feed her."
I quickly opened my inventory and offered the spirit around fifty Spirit Crystals and fifty Mana Crystals. In addition, I gave her several monster corpses and spirit cores from spirit beasts. She devoured them viciously, growing stronger with every bite.
After eating her fill, she ranked up.
Ding!
[Krarlak's Guardian Spirit: Four-Armed Serpent Matriarch Spirit – Tier 3 has ranked up to Tier 4!]
[She has awakened the Guardian Spirit Abilities: Guardian Spirit Elemental Shield, Serpent Spirit's Soul Venom, and Serpent Spirit's Venomous Claws.]
[Her stats have increased greatly.]
"And one last time," I said with a smirk. "Evolve."
I touched her back and activated Evolution. Her body grew even taller, reaching four and then five meters. She gained two additional arms and a third eye, while her colors became far more defined and vibrant. She turned mostly green, accented with golden scales and intricate tattoos across her majestic and alluring body. Her upper torso, especially her breasts, became even more pronounced.
Ding!
[You have used the Trait: Evolution to evolve Krarlak's Guardian Spirit from Four-Armed Serpent Matriarch Spirit – Tier 4 into Six-Armed Lamia Matriarch Spirit Queen – Tier 5!]
[She has awakened the Guardian Spirit Abilities: Elemental Spirit Weapon Manifestation, Mana-Draining Bite, and Mother's Wrath.]
[Her stats have increased greatly.]
[Due to the power you have granted her, the Guardian Spirit now sees you as someone she can trust.]
[Although she will not help you as much as her true master, she has decided to forge a contract with you in hopes that you will continue providing her and her master opportunities to grow.]
[In exchange, she promises to grant you more mana, spiritual energy, and access to some of her powers when you have the necessary energy and proficiency.]
"Wait, what?!"
In a shocking turn of events, the gorgeous giantess lamia knelt before me and kissed my face with her giant lips, infusing my body with her spiritual power. Just like that, she had forged a contract with me.
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